NBA Finals MVP
The Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award (formerly known as the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award) is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) award given since the 1969 NBA Finals. The award is decided by a panel of eleven media members, who cast votes after the conclusion of the Finals. The person with the highest number of votes wins the award.1 The award was originally a black trophy with a gold basketball-shaped sphere at the top, similar to the Larry O'Brien Trophy, until a new trophy was introduced in 2005 to commemorate Bill Russell.23 Since its inception, the award has been given to 30 different players. Michael Jordan is a record six-time award winner.4 Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Tim Duncan and LeBron James won the award three times in their careers. Jordan and O'Neal are the only players to win the award in three consecutive seasons (Jordan accomplished the feat on two separate occasions). Johnson is the only rookie ever to win the award,5 as well as the youngest at 20 years old.6 Andre Iguodala is the only winner to have not started every game in the series.7 Jerry West, the first ever awardee, is the only person to win the award while being on the losing team in the NBA Finals.4 Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Hakeem Olajuwon, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and Kawhi Leonard won the award twice. Olajuwon, Bryant, James and Durant have won the award in two consecutive seasons. Abdul-Jabbar, James, and Leonard are the only players to win the award for two different teams. Olajuwon of Nigeria, who became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1993, Tony Parker of France, and Dirk Nowitzki of Germany are the only international players to win the award. Duncan is an American citizen, but is considered an "international" player by the NBA because he was not born in one of the fifty states or Washington, D.C., as he was born in Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.8 Parker and Nowitzki are the only winners to have been trained totally outside the U.S.; Olajuwon played college basketball at Houston and Duncan at Wake Forest. Cedric Maxwell is the only Finals MVP winner eligible for the Hall of Fame who has not been voted in.9 On February 14, 2009, during the 2009 NBA All-Star Weekend in Phoenix, then-NBA Commissioner David Stern announced that the award would be renamed the "Bill Russell NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award" in honor of 11-time NBA champion Bill Russell.10 Recipients *1969 - Jerry West, Los Angeles Lakers *1970 - Willis Reed, New York Knicks *1971 - Lew Alcindor, Milwaukee Bucks *1972 - Wilt Chamberlain, Los Angeles Lakers *1973 - Willis Reed, New York Knicks *1974 - John Havlicek, Boston Celtics *1975 - Rick Barry, Golden State Warriors *1976 - Jo Jo White, Boston Celtics *1977 - Bill Walton, Portland Trail Blazers *1978 - Wes Unseld, Washington Bullets *1979 - Dennis Johnson, Seattle SuperSonics *1980 - Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers *1981 - Cedric Maxwell, Boston Celtics *1982 - Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers *1983 - Moses Malone, Philadelphia 76ers *1984 - Larry Bird, Boston Celtics *1985 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Los Angeles Lakers *1986 - Larry Bird, Boston Celtics *1987 - Magic Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers *1988 - James Worthy, Los Angeles Lakers *1989 - Joe Dumars, Detroit Pistons *1990 - Isiah Thomas, Detroit Pistons *1991 - Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls *1992 - Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls *1993 - Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls *1994 - Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets *1995 - Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston Rockets *1996 - Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls *1997 - Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls *1998 - Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls *1999 - Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs *2000 - Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles Lakers *2001 - Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles Lakers *2002 - Shaquille O'Neal, Los Angeles Lakers *2003 - Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs *2004 - Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons *2005 - Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs *2006 - Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat *2007 - Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs *2008 - Paul Pierce, Boston Celtics *2009 - Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers *2010 - Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers *2011 - Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks *2012 - LeBron James, Miami Heat *2013 - LeBron James, Miami Heat *2014 - Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio Spurs *2015 - Andre Iguodala, Golden State Warriors *2016 - LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers *2017 - Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors *2018 - Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors *2019 - Kawhi Leonard, Toronto Raptors Category:National Basketball Association awards Category:NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award Winners